Target: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Administrator Richard W. Spinrad
Goal: Stop sea turtle species from going extinct through better conservation efforts.
Nearly six of the existing seven sea turtle species are endangered and/or threatened with extinction. The last 200 years have put their population at a steady decline based on climate change and most significantly, human activity. They have been endangered since 1970, and several conservation efforts have occurred to help sustain their species, but it still declines daily.
Oceanic ecosystems have faced ramifications because of pollution and climate change. Many sea turtle habitats are ruined and can no longer be reproduced in. The act of poaching sea turtles and/or sea turtle eggs has slowly diminished, but years ago, this was a common occurrence that killed off many turtles. The animals would be exploited for their meat and other resources, causing a drastic decline in their population. Now, sea turtles are most often killed from commercial fishing. They can get caught in fishing nets and face injury, or even death. Sometimes, they even get unintentionally captured by fishermen. Commercial fishing is such a widespread practice that kills off hundreds of marine animals, but it most directly harms sea turtles.
If sea turtles continue to die off, it is predicated that nearly all their species will vanish by 2040. These animals are needed for the biodiversity within their habitats and need to be preserved. Sign this petition to promote better conservation efforts to save sea turtle populations.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear NOAA Administrator Spinrad,
Within the next twenty years, sea turtles are going to be nearly extinct. Several actions have been done to prevent this issue, but their population still continues to dwindle every day. They directly face the ramifications of climate change, pollution, and just overall humanity.
Commercial fishing plays a huge part in why sea turtles are endangered. They often get stuck in nets, harming or killing them. Furthermore, they’ll get accidentally captured and killed by fishermen. They were once hunted for the meat, shells, or eggs. This is not as common as it was years ago, but it still continues to happen. Due to human activity, important resources and nutrients in oceanic habitats are removed, causing a decrease in sea turtle reproduction. If their habitats can’t sustain the already present populations, there’s no way it can sustain more life.
We urge you and NOAA to do more to stabilize sea turtle habitats. They’re facing severe habitat loss, and this needs to be combated in any way it can. Based on the drastic effects of commercial fishing, more needs to be done to prevent these populations from the harm of these practices. Please save sea turtles from endangerment. We appreciate your attention to this message.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo credit: Pexels
NOAA is aware of this fishing net problem which kills turtles. Commercial fishing plays a large part in this problem. All commercial fishing vessels must carry cameras. These cameras need to have 5 postings not just to their home country but to 5 other countries so there can be oversight to stop this problem as well as ship strike problems with whales. Some of the people fishing are not concerned with how many turtles or whales they kill but they need to be educated. THier ignorance is killings many species and they will go extinct due to total ignorance. Companies need to be accountable for those they hire but truth needs to be seen on cameras!!!!!!!